IA ideas library
Kinematics IA ideas: motion, velocity and acceleration from your own data
Phones and free video-tracking software make it easy to collect motion data: the position of a ball every thirtieth of a second, the acceleration of a lift, the speed of a bike. Kinematics IAs turn that data into displacement, velocity and acceleration with calculus, and test a model of the motion against it.
Calculus kinematics is in AA SL and AI HL, and vectors add a second dimension at HL. Keep the focus mathematical: a physics law can motivate the model, but the IA is about deriving, fitting and testing it.
Kinematics & physics-style modelling ideas (8)
- How high did the lift go? Integrating a phone's accelerometerAA SLAA HLAI HLSolid
- Estimating g from a video of a falling ballAA SLAI SLAccessible
- Why is a rolling marble slower than a sliding block?AA SLAI SLAA HLSolid
- Crossing a river with a current: fastest or straightest?AA HLAI HLAA SLSolid
- The path of a bike valve: parametric equations of a cycloidAA HLAI HLAmbitious
- How fast does a sledge go? Acceleration, friction and slopeAA SLAI SLAA HLSolid
- How quickly does a swing die down? Exponential or linear decay?AA SLAA HLAI HLAI SLSolid
- Modelling a bus journey between two stops from a phone's sensorsAA SLAI SLAI HLSolid
Also relevant (8)
- How fast is a sprinter at each moment? Differentiating 100 m splitsAA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Linear or quadratic drag? Testing air resistance with falling coffee filtersAA HLAI HLSolid
- What is the best angle to shoot a free throw?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- Why don't long jumpers take off at 45°?AA SLAA HLAI SLAI HLSolid
- How fast does a speaker get quieter? Decibels, logarithms and distanceAA SLAI SLAA HLAI HLAccessible
- What speed minimises the total cost of a long drive?AA SLAI SLAA HLAI HLSolid
- Why do buses come in bunches? A simulation of a bus routeAI HLAI SLAA HLAmbitious
- What is the best angle to sail upwind?AA HLAA SLAI HLAmbitious
Frequently asked questions
How is a kinematics Maths IA different from a Physics IA?
A Maths IA is assessed on the mathematics: setting up functions, differentiating and integrating them, fitting and comparing models and reflecting on them. Apparatus and procedure matter much less than in Physics. Check your school's rules before using the same experiment for both.
What software can I use for motion data?
Tracker (free video analysis) gives position against time from a video; phyphox turns a phone's sensors into data loggers. Both export CSV for a spreadsheet, Desmos or GeoGebra.
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